Lady Pirates Host Nationally Ranked TCU
February 12, 2004 | Women's Basketball
GREENVILLE, N.C. -- The East Carolina women's basketball team will look to snap a four-game Conference USA losing skid as it prepares to host nationally ranked (No. 22) TCU Friday, Feb. 13 in Williams Arena at Minges Coliseun with a 7 p.m. tipoff scheduled.
The Lady Pirates (14-8, 5-4) are looking to bounce back from a pair of road losses to Saint Louis (84-81) and Memphis (79-60) over the weekend. Against the Billikens, Jennifer Jackson scored a team-high 22 points and pulled down eight rebounds, while Alisha Bishop came off the bench to score a season-high 21 points, hitting on 5-of-8 three-pointers in 18 minutes of play. Senior Courtney Willis recorded her 11th double-double of the season with 14 points and 12 boards in the overtime loss.
In ECU's last outing against Memphis, Willis led three Lady Pirates in double figures with 16 points. She recorded her 22nd straight double-figure scoring game, connecting on 8-of-15 shots from the floor. Willis is currently averaging 18.0 points and 9.5 rebounds a game, and is 13 points shy of passing Lydia Roundtree for sixth place on the all-time scoring list. Juniors Viola Cooper and Jennifer Jackson each netted 10 points against the Lady Tigers.
TCU (18-4, 7-2) is coming off a pair of home wins over Tulane (76-44) and Southern Miss (76-45). The Lady Frogs have two players averaging double figures and are led by preseason all-conference selection Sandora Irvin. The junior forward is averaging 15.4 points and 11.6 rebounds.
The two teams last met in the first round of the 2003 Conference USA Tournament. The Lady Frogs were the No. 5 seed and ECU was the 12th team to make the 12-team tourney. TCU came away with a 54-44 victory en route to taking the tournament championship and the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. This will mark the third meeting between the two schools with TCU holding a 3-0 advantage.
ECU Athletics has announced two ticket promotions for Friday's game against TCU. Any Pirate fan who presents their ECU vs. UNC Asheville baseball ticket stub to the Minges ticket window is eligible to receive a free admission ticket to the game.
In addition, the Take A Kid to the Game promotion allows any adult who purchases a ticket at full price to receive a free child's ticket to the game. The Minges ticket office will open at 6 p.m.
The Lady Pirates will host their final regular season home game on Sunday, Feb. 15 at 2 p.m. against nationally ranked (No. 21) Houston. This game as been designated as senior day, and it will be the first time in school history that two nationally ranked teams have come to Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum in the same weekend.
